Written by, Rosemarie D Courtney

Since Girl Scouts was founded in 1912, camping has provided campers with memories they carry throughout their lives. 

Today, our council has many opportunities for campers to form their own memories at Camp Butternut Springs, Camp Juniper Knoll, Camp Palos, and Camp Greene Wood.

But did you know that over the years, Girl Scouts have made lasting memories at 97 different camps that were once owned by our council, or by the former councils that existed prior to any mergers?

Keep reading to learn more about one of these beloved camps and the memories created there.

CAMP HAPPY HOLLOW

On May 30, 1959, Girl Scouts of Northwest Cook Council purchased 287 acres of land from John Bushman Jr.  It featured gentle rolling hills to steep hills with approximately two-thirds open land the last third wooded land.  Sugar Creek flows along the edge of the property.  The only building on the property was the farmhouse which became the caretaker’s home.  The property was purchased with cookie money.

The name “Happy Hollow” was chosen by Junior Troop 365 from St. Mary’s School in Des Plaines, led by Mrs. Eisenbacher. Shortly after the property was purchased, the troop visited the new camp. During a hike down a ravine, the girls discovered a large hollow log and stopped to rest. Inspired by the joyful experience and the unique setting, they submitted the name “Happy Hollow”, which they believed was a perfect reflection of their adventure and the spirit of the camp.

In 1961, troops were provided with tents, camping equipment, water and sanitary facilities for primitive camping experience. 151 girls and adults enjoyed the experience. By 1967, the camp had expanded to include two platform tent sites and Leffer House, a winterized cabin with a kitchen for meal preparation. The cabin was named in honor of Fred Leffer, Chairman of the Campsite Committee and member of the Board of Directors.

In 1970, two more platform sites were added. Then in 1972, Fox’s Den cabin (named after Anne Fox Blakeman – Board of Directors / Camp Director) was constructed.  With the camp growing the board realized Leffer House needed to be remodeled.  The kitchen was expanded, and two covered decks were added in 1981.  The kitchen expansion and equipment were made possible by the June L Kuehl Memorial fund. June, a dedicated volunteer in the Northwest Cook Council, was instrumental in launching the Council’s cookie sale. Her vision and commitment led to years of successful sales, which helped fund the purchase and development of Happy Hollow. Over the years, several other features were added to the camp, including a bell tower, high ropes course, swimming pool, and archery range. The final major addition came in 2002, when stables were built that gave girls the opportunity to enjoy horseback riding without leaving camp property.

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana (GSGCNWI) sold Happy Hollow in 2012.   

Debbie Kidd was a troop leader for two troops and going camping was something both troops enjoyed doing.  Continue reading to learn more about her experience.

Happy Hollow was a favorite camping site for the troops.  It was a distance away from our homes and finding Hollow happy was an adventure all its own.  You see, the camp entrance was located on a highway surrounded by trees so finding the sign before you passed it up was “the adventure”.  At that time the words “Happy Hollow” were simply attached to a wooden post.  Often, we would pass up the sign and then find ourselves in the middle of the country where homes were spread far from each other and all you saw was sky and fields: fields of cows and horses.

On one of the trips we took, there were no gas stations in sight so I pulled our van over, jokingly said to the girls, let’s ask a cow how far we are and if he turns a direction, we will head that way.  Well, a cow turned around, we went that way, ended up at a country ice cream shop and enjoyed ice cream before we found out from the shop owner that we passed up Happy Hollow about five miles back.  The girls loved the adventure of getting to Happy Hollow.

When my troops were Brownie Girl Scouts we would camp in a lodge.  Later, we moved to staying in tents.  Some of the best memories were made while hiking and singing together, spotting wildlife, building campfires at night, and indulging in delicious s’mores and pudgy pies.

One of my troop members, Erica shared with me how much fun she had at Happy Hollow “catching snipes”.  She said that catching snipes were the best and recalled how one of the members of our troop was in tears when she found out they weren’t real.         

Snipes are a playful myth.  The girls are led to believe that snipes are adorable, harmless, furry creatures that love to be cuddled.  According to the joke, snipes supposedly live in the woods, venture out at night, and are notoriously difficult to catch.  “Snipe hunters” go hunting with adults and bring a brown lunch bag, lay it on the ground and make a whistling noise to attract them to the bag.  When the girl thinks she’s caught a snipe, the adult discreetly drops a few pebbles in the bag.  This clever trick creates the illusion that something is moving inside, thrilling the girls into believing they’ve really caught a snipe.  The girls burst with excitement to see their cute little creature they caught squeal with delight.  However, the leaders had put a small hole in the bottom of the bag allowing the pebbles to fall out before the girls reached the table to open their bag and see their snipe.  Their excitement quickly turns to disappointment when they discover there was nothing in the bag.  This goes on until all the girls had a chance to “catch a snipe”.  As each girl “catches a snipe” she tells the other girls that it was cute, but it escaped and couldn’t show them what it looked like.

One girl in my troop was so disappointed that her snipe escaped, asked me if I could tell her mom where she can get one for a pet when she gets home.  Finally, after the girls finished their nighttime snipe hunt, we revealed the surprise: it was a playful prank!  The snipes weren’t real, and the girls erupted into laughter.  The rest of the night was filled with laughter and stories about the elusive snipes.

Erica also shared that she remembers sleeping in her sleeping bag on a mat in the main room of the cabin and making breakfast in the morning. 

Other great memories for the girls were cooking over a fire, preparing and making foiled meals, dutch oven desserts, singing grace before meals, washing their mess kits and hanging them on clothesline to dry in their dunk bag and making unique crafts.  One very special craft that the girls loved was decorating pillowcases.  As a leader, I enjoyed creating crafts that were unique and memorable; something that they would keep forever.  To this day, 30 years later, some of my troop members have shared with me that they still have their pillowcases as it brings back fond memories of the fun times we had.  The girls would put their name at the opening side of the pillowcase, and add their creation using fabric markers, putting Happy Hollow and the date somewhere on the cover, then having each girl sign it.  On each subsequent camping trip, we would bring our special pillowcase and add to it, having the girls sign their names on a section of the cover with the date of our trip.

I remember my daughter, Jennifer, going to Happy Hollow resident camp for the first time.  She went horseback riding, made new friends and loved the time away!  Also, Happy Hollow was the camping site where our service unit went camping. That was a fun trip – as a member of the service team, I chose to teach the girls first aid, and each girl made a small first aid kit. Other stations were run by other service team members or troop leaders teaching outdoor cooking skills or other camp skills.

The GSGCNWI Historians are trying to collect photos and memories of all the 97 camps that were once owned or rented by our council or former councils.  If you have any camp photos or memories you’d like to share, please send them to rdcourtney1940@gmail.com.